• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS

5 Minutes for Mom

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Snack
      • Lunch
      • Appetizer
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Ingredient
      • Apple
      • Beef
      • Blueberry
      • Chicken
      • Chocolate
      • Cranberry
      • Peach
      • Pumpkin
      • Squash
      • Strawberry
      • Tomato
      • Vegetables
      • Zucchini
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Baking
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • No Bake
      • One Dish
      • Slow Cooker
    • Type
      • Breads and Rolls
      • Cakes and Muffins
      • Condiments
      • Cookies and Bars
      • Drinks
      • Food for Kids
      • Gluten-Free
      • Main Dish
      • Pies and Crisps
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Wraps
      • Side Dishes
      • Smoothies
      • Soup
  • Crafts & DIY
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Kids Crafts
    • Printables
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing
  • Family Life
    • Giveaways
    • Lifestyle
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Parenting
    • Pet Care
    • Special Needs
    • Time Management
    • Travel
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

TransUnion Keeps My Children’s Identities Safe

August 22, 2013 by Michelle M

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail

Michelle of Honest & Truly!, 5 Minutes for Mom contributor, is here to share her insights into TransUnion’s credit monitoring through this sponsored post. While we were compensated to write this post, our writers views and opinions remain her own.

I come from a banking background with credit cards where one of the more tragic customer service issues we had to deal with – and we had to deal with it more frequently that I wish we did – was the aftermath of identity theft.

As much as our bank and others do their best to ensure that the applicant is exactly who he says he is, there are identities stolen and credit histories ruined every day. And our children – whose credit we almost never think about as parents – are ripe for thieves for that very reason.  TransUnion now has a mobile app to help monitor your child’s credit via the TransUnion Credit Monitoring service.

Identity Theft

As parents, we are the ones who need to keep on top of our children’s identities and doing what we can to minimize the risk of becoming a victim of child identity theft. I can’t tell you how many forms I’ve filled out – and will fill out – that includes my children’s personal information from physical forms to school registration forms to after school activities and sports, and more. Not surprisingly, children make a tempting target for identity thieves as theft of a child’s identity may go undetected for years – with possible serious consequences – including damaged credit.

“Identity theft can affect your child’s future credit and employment prospects if the perpetrator, who in many cases is a friend of the family or even a relative, obtains credit accounts using the child’s Social Security number. “The good news is there are steps parents can take to help minimize their child’s risk of becoming a victim and signs to watch out for that could signal their child’s identity has possibly been compromised or stolen.”

There are steps we can take to minimize the risk for our children (and ourselves for that matter).

  • Be mindful of the personal information that your child is carrying. Make sure their information is kept in a safe spot and not just tossed in the bottom of a school bag.  Help your child memorize their personal information.
  • Remind your child that they should never give out their personal information, especially to a stranger, and it should only be given to a teacher or other person they trust and know.
  • Consider hand-delivering directly to the school any forms with personal information or medical records instead of sending them with your child.

“In many cases the key elements required to open a credit account is a name and Social Security number. Since a child’s Social Security number represents a ‘clean slate’ and has the potential to go undetected for years, it represents an appealing target to most identity theft thieves,” said Julie Springer, TransUnion’s vice president responsible for consumer education.

With it taking on average 334 days to discover that a child’s identity has been stolen and over 19,000 cases of child identity theft reported in 2001, it can seem daunting. There are clues that something may be amiss, however, if you know what to look for.Some possible warning signs of child identity theft include:

  • The child beginning to receive suspicious mail, like pre-approved credit cards and other financial offers normally sent to adults, in their name.
  • The parent trying to open a financial account for the child, but finds one already exists or learns the application is denied because of a poor credit history. A credit report already exists in their name. If the child has one, they may have been targeted already, since typically, an application for credit, a credit account, or a public record starts the compilation of a consumer credit file.

In the event that identity thieves may have targeted your child, TransUnion can help. After completing our secure Child Identity Theft Inquiry Form, TransUnion can investigate the existence of a potential credit file in your child’s name using the information provided. After TransUnion’s search is complete, they will respond using the email address provided. If TransUnion locates a file in the child’s name, they will ask the parents for additional information in order to proceed with steps to protect the child from any impact associated with this fraudulent activity.

Michelle may never stop running around Chicagoland, but she always makes time for the important things in her life – her wee ones, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends – and of course, writing. You can see what she’s up to on her blog Honest & Truly! or on Twitter where she tweets as @HonestAndTruly.


ShareTweetPinPocketMail
Big Toy Book’s Sweet Suite 2013 — The Biggest Night of Play
Go #backtoschool with these Must Have Gadgets + a Complete Cookware set #giveaway

About Michelle M

Michelle is a stay at home mom of Mister Man (8) and Little Miss (6). When she's not out volunteering or running children to therapy or practices, you can find her in the kitchen or on her personal blog Honest & Truly where there's always a good story or new recipe or at her review blog Honest And Truly Reviews.

Reader Interactions


Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments

  1. Shirley says

    September 6, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    I learnt something new today.

    Reply
  2. Tammy S says

    August 31, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    Wow it is so scary that people would do things like this to children. You don’t really think of your child’s credit history as much as your own. Thanks for the info.

    Reply
  3. mrsshukra says

    August 28, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    The teen just had her ID pickpocketed! Thanks for this valuable tip!

    Reply
  4. Anne Lehnick says

    August 27, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    What a wonderful service! I certainly don’t want my kids getting a poor start off on their own because some Internet creeper ruined their credit.

    Reply
  5. Marti Parks says

    August 24, 2013 at 9:26 am

    Thanks for all the great information. You can never bee too careful. Identity theft is really damaging and hard to overcome.

    Reply
  6. vickie couturier says

    August 23, 2013 at 11:47 am

    hadn’t heard of this one before,but it does make really good sense to use it

    Reply
  7. HappyMomC says

    August 23, 2013 at 8:48 am

    such an informative article! thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Janet W. says

    August 23, 2013 at 5:01 am

    You really can’t be too careful these days. It’s amazing how we didn’t have to worry about this stuff back in the day.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Bringing Moms Together

We are Janice and Susan, twin bloggers and work-at-home moms. We're here to inspire, encourage & empower you.

Meet Us…

Work With Us…

Subscribe via Email

to be first to read new posts

Trending Now

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

browse around

  • Posts by Susan
  • Posts by Janice
  • Favorite Recipes
  • Favorite Crafts
  • Giveaways
  • All Posts

Footer

Recipes

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Crafts/DIY

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

Giveaways

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 5 Minutes for MomTheme by Melissa Rose Design and Once Coupled